Good Will Hunting (1997)

Will Hunting, a janitor at MIT, has a gift for mathematics but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.

Director:

Gus Van Sant

Writers:

Matt Damon, Ben Affleck

Stars:

Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck

Top 250 #148 | Won 2 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 37 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Damon	...	Will Hunting
Robin Williams	...	Sean Maguire
Ben Affleck	...	Chuckie Sullivan
Stellan Skarsgård	...	Prof. Gerald Lambeau
Minnie Driver	...	Skylar
Casey Affleck	...	Morgan O'Mally
Cole Hauser	...	Billy McBride
John Mighton	...	Tom - Lambeau's Teaching Assistant
Rachel Majorowski	...	Krystyn
Colleen McCauley	...	Cathy
Matt Mercier	...	Barbershop Quartet #1
Ralph St. George	...	Barbershop Quartet #2
Rob Lynds	...	Barbershop Quartet #3
Dan Washington	...	Barbershop Quartet #4
Alison Folland	...	M.I.T. Student #1

Storyline

A touching tale of a wayward young man who struggles to find his identity, living in a world where he can solve any problem, except the one brewing deep within himself, until one day he meets his soul mate who opens his mind and his heart.

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Plot Keywords:

genius | professor | janitor | mathematics | friend | 

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Taglines:

Wildly charismatic. Impossibly brilliant. Totally rebellious. For the first 20 years of his life, Will Hunting has called the shots. Now he's about to meet his match.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language, including some sex-related dialogue

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 January 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

En busca del destino

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$10,400,000 (Non-US) (6 March 1998)

Gross:

$138,339,411 (USA) (24 July 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Be Gentlemen Limited Partnership, Lawrence Bender Productions, Miramax Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Roger Ebert asked in his "Movie Answer Man" column for suggestions as to who Will's brothers Marky, Ricky, Danny, Terry, Mikey, Davey, Timmy, Tommy, Joey, Robby, Johnny, and Brian were named after. Gina Dante of Minneapolis suggested that they were "directors whom Ben Affleck and Matt Damon would like to work with": Marc Rocco, Richard Attenborough, Danny Boyle, Terry Gilliam, Mikael Salomon, David Fincher, Tim Burton, Tom Hanks, Joel Schumacher, Robert Redford, John Woo, and Brian De Palma.

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Goofs

After Will is released from jail and is riding the subway, the scars from his fight disappear, only to reappear in the next scene.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Lambeau: Mod fx... squared... dx. So please finish Parceval, by next time. I know many of you had this as undergraduates, but it won't hurt to brush up.

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Crazy Credits

Throughout the end credits, Will's car is driving down the highway.

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Connections

Referenced in The Holiday (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Tommy Bhetty's Waltz"
Traditional
Arranged by Altan and P.J. Curtis
Performed by Altan

User Reviews

This movie has a brilliant script...

It appears the jury is hung... many people either loved or hated this movie. I can tell you why I loved it. First of all the script. I think it had a real slice of life, and brilliance in it. Sorry, but some people do use 4 letter words to express themselves. And no, it doesn't mean that's because they lack intelligence to use anything else. I can rise to the occasion any time I need w/out profanity. But it is how I think & speak in my day to day life. The language shouldn't even be an issue. If that's all you heard, you weren't listening! The brilliance in it is everywhere. For example, William's character putting Damon's character in place by noting that he sneers at things that he has no real life experience with. I know people like that. Then moments when he (William's character) says gems like, "I'll save you the suspense sport- she isn't perfect & neither are you- the question is whether you are perfect for each other." I'm paraphrasing of course. The question of relationships, and life career decisions- the courage to risk and overcoming whatever your background is, are all a part of real life. This isn't supposed to be about genius or some "white trash" as someone else said (some people might say the kids in this movie aren't trash, just normal hard working, middle class guys) - it's about love, life and courage- courage to ante up & try again, no matter how many times life knocks us around. The acting, direction and script are wonderful. They definitely deserved the Oscar for this. It has soul. It has meaning & I am sad for the people that didn't get it. As the movie "American Beauty" said... LOOK CLOSER.